The Rest of the Story (with a nod to Paul Harvey)

"We have rats!" This is what Dylan will tell anyone who will listen, such as his teacher on the first day of school, or the pastor at church. Now admit it, you thought when you read it that we have an infestation of ugly, red-eyed, disease spreading, disgusting RATS!! No matter how many times I gently suggest he say, "We have pet rats." he insists on telling the story his own way. Meanwhile, I see the horrified look on people's faces and suddenly it makes sense why no one wants to come play at our house after school. So, just to clear the air, I thought I would show everyone these little cuties. On the left is Bill, being modelled by Dylan. Originally his name was spelled Balll and pronounced Bill (Hey, Dylan is only seven!) but Dakota just couldn't let that pass without comment. - Or, to be more precise, a comment approximately every 20 seconds accompanied by near-hysterical laughter.

Eventually Dylan caved to peer pressure and changed the spelling to Bill. Bill is sweet and cuddly. He loves attention so much that he won't even eat treats if you're holding him. He waits to get back in the cage to devour them. The one on the right being modelled by Dakota is Ric. This is actually the second one named Ric, with a different spelling from the first one, spelled Rick. Tragically, Rick (the first one) died while we were on vacation over the summer. He had little seizures from the time we got him as a baby last June. -Ironic that Dakota would own the only rat I've ever known to have neurological issues. Anyway, Devin put him in cold storage (i.e. the freezer) until we got back and could arrange the funeral service. EWWW! Rick is very active and seems to find his way out of any area where we try to confine him. His favorite spot to hang out when he escapes is behind the dryer in the back corner of the laundry room. So yes, we have rats, pet rats.